Emotional Rescue (song)

Emotional Rescue (song)

"Emotional Rescue" is a song by the English rock 'n roll band, The Rolling Stones. It was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards and is featured on their 1980 album Emotional Rescue.

Recorded between June and October 1979, "Emotional Rescue" is a disco-influenced number, somewhat similar to the band's 1978 hit "Miss You". The song is notable as one of the earliest songs by the group to show the growing rift between Jagger and Richards. Although Richards plays guitar and added backing vocals towards the end of this track, he is noted to not have liked the direction in which Jagger was trying to take the band with disco-like compositions, although this may have been exaggerated by the press and Richards' hard-rock-oriented image.

Mick wrote the song on an electric piano and from the beginning it was sung in falsetto (similar to Marvin Gaye's lead vocal on his 1977 hit "Got to Give It Up"). When the song was brought into the studio they kept the electric piano and falsetto lead. With Ronnie Wood on bass and Charlie Watts on drums they worked out the song. They then added the saxophone. Bass guitarist Bill Wyman plays synthesizer on the record, while Jagger and Ian Stewart play electric piano.

Jagger said the song was about "a girl who's in some sort of manhood problems", not that she was going crazy but she's "just a little bit screwed up and he wants to be the one to help her out".

Released as the album's lead single on 20 June 1980, "Emotional Rescue" was well received by some fans. Other fans of the Rolling Stones' work took note of the change in direction and were disappointed by it. Reaching #9 on the UK Singles Chart and #3 in the US., "Emotional Rescue" became popular enough to feature on all of the band's later compilation albums.

Phish occasionally covered the song, usually stretching it to the 15-minute mark.